OBTAINED PERMANENT RESIDENCY IN ECUADOR AND NOW HAVE A CEDULA

The day I went into pick up my passport with my new Visa, I had a photo taken of myself with the two women in Maité Durán's office (Johanna Calcedo and Karina San Martin) who helped me the most with obtaining my Residential Visa as a Retired Person in Ecuador.

It took about 6 months for me to obtain permanency in Ecuador, because my fingerprints sent for a crime check  were rejected 3 times by the FBI. Finally, Ecuador made an exception to my having the FBI check, because my State crime check came out clean.

Not sure why the FBI rejected my fingerprints. Sometimes I think the FBI just doesn't like fingerprints taken by Ecuadorian police. Some people told me that older people have finer fingerprints, and this is a problem, yet I never had any problem getting fingerprints cleared when I lived in the United States.

My fingerprints were scanned when I became licensed as a Psychologist, and everything went smoothly. However, obtaining residency in Ecuador was delayed for me because supposedly the FBI was unable to read my fingerprints. Yet I prevailed, and obtained permanent residency in Ecuador.

Below is a copy of my 91EC Ecuadorian Visa. Hurray!

Luckily, I applied for a brand new passport in June, even though my passport wasn't due to expire until late 2016. Thanks to having the new passport, I won't have to trouble myself over obtaining a new Passport or a new Visa for another 10 years!

It was easy getting the new passport, too. Employees from the US Embassy in Guayaquil came to Cuenca, and I applied for my passport locally. I had to submit photos and a $110 processing fee. A  month later the passport was ready, and I paid a driver $35 to pick up the passport in Guayaquil.

One morning last week I  went to the immigration office in Cuenca at 7:30 am to obtain a form I needed for my Cedula (Ecuador's Identification Card). All I had to take with me was a copy of my passport photo and Visa, and a payment of $4.00. Oh, I took information printed out by Johanna in Maité's office. After about an hour, I obtained the form I needed to get the Cedula from Immigration. Below the picture of the Immigration office is a photo of my Cedula.

The Cedula itself was issued by the Registro Civil, at Manuel Vega and Alfonso Herves in Cuenca. Again, I arrived early in the morning, well before 8 am. I submitted the form I received from Immigration, and a $5 fee. My fingerprints and a photo were taken. Lots of Ecuadorians were getting their Cedulas too. I was impressed with the efficiency with which everyone's data was collected and Cedulas were distributed. By 9 am I was the proud owner of a Cedula.

The Cedula is Ecuador's Identification card. Now that I am a resident of Ecuador and have a Cedula, I can open a bank account here. I am eligible for government health insurance too, but my health is good so I am going to forgo this.  I opened a bank account at Banco de Guayaquil right away, though.

The following day I went to the SRI (Servicio de Rentas Internas) office on Remigio Crespo and Loja, to register. Every couple of months I'll submit my receipts for groceries, and anything else I purchase. The tax I pay is reimbursed to me because of being over 65. Isn't Ecuador progressive?

So, that's all for now, and I am thrilled to be able to report the very good news that I am a permanent resident of Ecuador and am free now to enjoy life in this country without any Visa concerns.

Back in January, I struggled with the decision whether to pursue permanency in Ecuador. I knew the process would take me out of traveling mode, cost money, and cramp my style. I actually considered the possibility of living 3 months in Ecuador then moving on to Columbia, Peru and Bolivia. 

However, all countries in Latin America have Visa regulations, and I decided it was best to move forward with obtaining residency in Ecuador. Though it was a costly and time consuming process for me, it is much easier as a US Citizen to obtain residency in Ecuador than it is for an Ecuadorian to obtain residency in the US. So all in all, I count myself fortunate. Things could have been worse!

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and look at the photos. September I'll be traveling to Los Organos, a beautiful beach in Northern Peru, and to Piura, also in Peru. I'm celebrating my success obtaining permanent residency in Ecuador by pursuing my favorite activity--travel. In this case I am headed back to Peru, where I spent 3 months the end of 2014. I'm so excited.

I'll post all about my trip to Peru (lots of photos to be included) in my next update.  In the meantime, all the best to you for an excellent September.